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Roosevelt Elementary Students Learn the True Meaning of Holiday Giving

St. Francis of Assisi said, "For it is in giving that we receive." Students from Roosevelt Elementary in Fargo will learn that lesson today. Tonight from 6:45-7 p.m., 30 students, and their MeritCare Adopt-A-School mentors, will pick out holiday gifts at the Moorhead Target for people less fortunate this holiday season. The gifts will be donated to the YWCA Shelter the first week of December.

St. Francis of Assisi said, "For it is in giving that we receive." Students from Roosevelt Elementary in Fargo will learn that lesson today. Tonight from 6:45-7 p.m., 30 students, and their MeritCare Adopt-A-School mentors, will pick out holiday gifts at the Moorhead Target for people less fortunate this holiday season. The gifts will be donated to the YWCA Shelter the first week of December.

The YWCA has provided the group with suggestion cards for gifts for people in need this holiday season. The children, with assistance from their mentors, will pick out gifts specific to their card.

"This project helps show kids the true meaning of giving," says Susie Munyer, MeritCare community youth coordinator. "Children are often wrapped up in their own lives and don't realize how other people, right here in our community, may be struggling this holiday season."

In 1999, MeritCare became the first corporation in Fargo-Moorhead to adopt a school. Since that time, nearly all of the schools in the Fargo Public School District have been adopted by business partners through the efforts of the Fargo Public School Development Foundation. The decision to adopt Roosevelt was a way to encourage MeritCare employees to get more directly involved with their community and give back in a very important and tangible way - by volunteering their time and talents to help kids stay healthy. Current partnership activities include mentoring, classroom reading, safety and wellness education, career exploration and summer art enrichment. The program is coordinated and funded by MeritCare's Community Connections department.